Friday, August 11, 2017

Everyone knows that if you are going to wear a ballgown that you will twirl and twirl in it all night long, reveling in the swishing and sashaying! That is what drew me to this beautiful necklace that Ann Schroeder made. Those sari silks in the artsy handmade tassel have the same effect as those swishy skirts! All the rich colors of their attire is represented in the drops of glass from MayaHoney and Leah Kelly, and the deep dark forest represented in the long strand of black glass beads. I also love the attention to detail in the little bit of rhinestone bling peeking out from the silks, as every princess needs her bling!

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

I See The Moon And The Moon Sees Me...

Hello from the worktable of The Earring Whisperer...errr, Loralee!
It's late Summer and my mind is already drifting off to my favorite season of Autumn. I love the colors and the night magic of it all!

The two featured rustic moon charms are by Terri DelSignore of Artisticaos. I've fallen completely for her work, it's charming, warm and rustically elegant!

I wanted to keep the focus on the crescent shape of the moons, so decided to wire-wrap very pale yellow crystals around the frame. It makes an interesting pattern, yet doesn't overpower the focal. The wire loops were on the larger side with a nice area to work with, so I was able to add charms, too! For a little night magic, I used petite, decorative, eye charms by Inviciti.

I had purchased a second pair of crescent moons and at first I was going to build a frame loop but thought...nah, let's put them upright! I really wanted this pair to have a primitive vibe and keep them simple. I made some over sized ear-wires with larger loops not only for a more prominent appearance, but also so the moons would move freely. For the dangling charms I hammered the wire at the ends keeping it rustic. I stacked some bright gold plated hematite and also added these amazing polymer rounds by Marina Rios of Fancifuldevices. Those little polymer beads are wonders unto themselves and complimented the design amazingly.

One of my favorite things to do in jewelry design, is to bring unexpected shapes and patterns together. My worktable is purposely cluttered with just about every material and type of bead. Organized chaos. I must try out dozens upon dozens of shapes until that little voice in my head says "yessss".

I usually start with one piece that I'm particularly fond of. For the pair of earrings below, it was the vintage faceted crystals at the bottom. They are little stunners in person. I suppose I would need to shoot a video to capture the full prism of color they give off. I haven't run across this shape/size very often and frankly, I don't remember where or when I got them!

I used little moons, again, by Inviciti. They were the perfect proportion and size. The gold is warm and the scratched rustic texture is a nice contrast to the perfectly, perfect, crystals.

Lastly, and I can't explain it, but I love, loveee these little plastic hand-dyed puffs with the other two. I think it lends a softness and a bit of mystery. Each bead completely wonderful on their own, yet together, magic.

It is always an honor and a pleasure to share my work with you and I'm thrilled that you stopped by to have a peek! Until next time!

Monday, August 7, 2017

Are you heading to BeadFest in Philadelphia next weekend? I'm busy working on some last minute creations, can't wait to share them! You can find two of the Art Bead Scene contributors at the show this year. I'm so excited about returning to BeadFest. I'll be bringing tons of new work!

8. Shop for stones at the show. There is nothing like being able to pick out the perfect stands in person!

9. Before the show take a good look at your bead inventory.

Take photos of your current art bead collection to help you shop the show for coordinating beads.

Download a few color palettes or design challenges to use a shopping guide. Narrow down your choices while you shop for focal beads and coordinates so they are more likely to get used after you get home from the show!

10. Stock up on rare finds! If you find something you really love at the show, find out if you can purchase more online later. If not, stock up at the show. There is nothing worse than finding a great bead you love to use in your designs and not being able to get more after it's gone!

"We are a creative space that's one part bead store, one part jewelry boutique, one part fine art gallery, and one part gift shop. The aim of Allegory Gallery is to promote artisan craftspeople, inspire the community to explore their creativity, and act as a focal point for classes and artistic education in the area."

Ashley Bonney creates handmade wood beads by woodburning the design and handpainting each one. Ashley is also a jewelry designer and accepts custom orders. All of this fabulous creativity happens in her Lynchburg Virginia studio.Ashley is donating beads and components valued over $50.

Thursday, August 3, 2017

This month we are delving into the realms of fairy tales and dreams with Danish illustrator Kay Nielsen. Influenced by the theater, the design of the Art Nouveau movement and woodcuts from China and Japan, his stylized illustrations were popular during the Golden Age of Illustration.

Which direction will your jewelry take this month? Will you pull from the opulent patterns of the dresses? Play with silk ribbon and floral beads inspired by the Princesses? Will you explore the repetitive elements of the tall trees using wire or gather beads mimicking the branches and leaves cascading down from the forest canopy? Will you mix the dark tones of black and grey with the pastel tones of peach, coral, lavender, greens and warm cream hues? So many directions to go, I can't wait to see what you create!

What is the Monthly Challenge?

Every month we challenge our readers to create jewelry inspired by the featured artwork. You have until the end of the month to share your work and then we pick two winners to receive beads and jewelry-making supplies from our sponsors. Our only rule? You must use at least one art bead in your piece!

About the Art & Artist:

Kay Nielsen was commissioned to illustrate Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales, written by Author Quiller-Couch. It was one of these illustrations that is our featured artwork for this month.

His work was mainly watercolor and pen, focused on detailed and stylized design. His most celebrated illustrations where for the book East of the Sun and West of the Moon.

Nielsen's work has a theatrical quality. No doubt influenced by his parents, who were well-known Danish actors, and his work on designing sets for theater productions during WWI. In his later life he moved to Hollywood and worked for Walt Disney, most notably on Fantasia.

Born in 1886 in Copenhagen, he was tutored at home after the age of 12 and then taught art at a traditional academy. While living in London in 1912 his illustration career took off with a series of book commissions. He illustrated tales by Hans Andersen, the Brother's Grimm and Arabian Nights. After his work for Disney in 1941, he returned to Denmark. Unfortunately publication tastes had changed and Nielsen's work was no longer in fashion. He lived in poverty in his later years. His work is now celebrated as one of the pillars during the Golden Age of Illustration.

We are process of creating a new home for the Art Bead Scene and it will be finished next week! Don't worry, you'll be able to find us at ArtBeadSceneStudio.com now and always.

The best thing about our new website will be our reader gallery where you can directly upload your entry this month to our site! We'll post directions and details as soon as the new site is revealed.

We will no longer do the monthly recap since you'll share your photo and links directly here on our new gallery.

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How to Enter the Monthly Jewelry Challenge:

Create something using an art bead that fits within our monthly theme. We post the art to be used as your inspiration to create. This challenge is open to jewelry-makers, fiber artists, collage artist, etc. The art bead can be created by you or someone else. The challenge is to inspire those who use art beads and to see all the different ways art beads can be incorporated into your handiwork.

An Art Bead must be used in your piece to qualify for the monthly challenge.

Upload your photo to our new photo gallery (details coming next week!) Please add the tag or title AUG ABS to your photos. Include a short description, who created the art beads and a link to your blog, if you have one.

Deadline is August 31st.You may upload two entries per month.

***Beads strung on a chain, by themselves and beads simply added to wire or cord will not be accepted.***

Entries for Bead Artists

Art beads must be created by you and fit the Art Bead Scene's monthly challenge theme. They can be made for the challenge or ones you have made before. Two entries per month are allowed.

One entry will be picked by the editors each month for a free month of advertising on the Art Bead Scene. Bead entries have to be pinned by the 30th of the month.

Monthly Challenge Winners

• Two prize winner will be selected at random from all pictures posted in our new gallery!

• Winners will be randomly chosen from all the qualifying entries on September 1st.

Perfect Pairings: Designer + Art Bead Artist

• Perfect Pairings focus on both the jewelry designer and the art bead artist.

• Be sure to point out all the art bead artists in your work in the description of the photos when you upload to the new gallery. Links to their website or shop are appreciated. That way we can all find new art beads to love!

• From all the entries during the month, an editor will pick their favorite design to be featured on Friday here on the ABS, so get those entries in soon.

What is an Art Bead?

An art bead is a bead, charm, button or finding made by an independent artist. Art beads are the vision and handiwork of an individual artist. You can read more about art beads here.

***A bead that is handmade is not necessarily an art bead. Hill Tribe Silver, Kazuri ceramic beads or lampwork beads made in factories are examples of handmade beads that are not considered art beads.

Beaded beads, stamped metal pendants or wire-wrapped components are not considered art beads for our challenge.***